At first I didn't think it was real. In the first few photos it looks like a franklin mint diecast model with their level of perfection.

jayoldschool

12-04-09, 08:14 PM

And that is a lesson on how to take photos for selling a car.

deVille33

12-04-09, 08:28 PM

It's almost surreal, mystical, Like it's been on a showroom floor for all these years.

Bro-Ham

12-04-09, 08:50 PM

check out the pictures of the car outside and you'll see the fillers on the rear are fading fast. My outside parked 79 has better urethane than that car and my car has 91k miles and is in Florida! :) The car is very, very nice! I'd drive it in a minute. The colors are not browns but, to be anal, saddle shades. :) I will look up the colors once I get enough energy to rise from my chair. I'm doing the classic informercial "P90X" and I can hardly move these days... :)

77CDV

12-04-09, 10:50 PM

Looks like the Western Saddle Firemist that Benzilla's Phaeton is painted. The car has been repainted, but seems like a very good job. It has all the options, too. The price seems a bit high.

Aron9000

12-05-09, 01:03 AM

Looks like the Western Saddle Firemist that Benzilla's Phaeton is painted. The car has been repainted, but seems like a very good job. It has all the options, too. The price seems a bit high.

The ad says its original paint. I tend to believe the ad, because I've seen quite a few of these Cadillacs with original paint. The rear fillers are always the first place the paint fails, the rest of the paint can look immaculate and the rear fillers can look like junk, as in the case of this car.

Anyways, I love the color combo on that car, and the interior is to die for. I wish they still made orange, brown, and tan cars like they did back then.

Quite possibly the cleanest CAR. Whoever walks away with it will be a very, very happy person.

eldorado99

12-05-09, 03:44 AM

My god... :eek: :drool::drool:

Warren_R

12-05-09, 06:06 AM

If I had the $$$, would offer about 9500 or so ... it's a beauty if ever there was one *drools* There's always options on redoing the rear filler, after all :cool2::bouncy:

I~LUV~Caddys8792

12-05-09, 08:35 AM

Actually, excuse me for this, but the only way this FWB could be any better is if it was a 1979, as I prefer the '79's grille more, but other than that, it's perfect.

outsider

12-05-09, 02:47 PM

I like my 87 better :$

My_favorite_Brougham

12-06-09, 10:27 PM

That is a nice car. See how detailing and a good photographer can boost prices! And I will say, he is a fine photographer.

outsider

12-06-09, 10:32 PM

i like my 87 better :$

Bro-Ham

12-06-09, 10:45 PM

In 1978 a Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance was one super big time car! One of the last of the real classic old school Cadillacs with the strong large overbuilt Cadillac engines and end of the era class leading design. Cadillac leadership, sales, innovation, and engineering was never higher in the luxury car market than the era of this car.

I~LUV~Caddys8792

12-06-09, 10:58 PM

Dave, in the eBay add, there's a picture of various Cadillac literature included with the car. In the picture, there's the standard 1978 full line brochure, which I have, and what appears to be a bigger 1978 brochure. Have you seen one of those before?

One could be an options catalog. They used to issue those separately with all the available factory options and dealer accessories. I have one for my 69.

Bro-Ham

12-07-09, 01:10 AM

Chad, Which brochure are you referring to? The tan brochure looks like the one I have although mine is the jumbo version which measures 11 1/2" by 12 1/2". The tan brochure shown is the same brochure I have - except in miniature form. Cad made identical large and small versions of the brochures, for whatever reason, in 1978-80. Also pictured is a 1978 factory color chart brochure which is blue and white and I wish the dude would look in to figure out the vinyl top on the car is not mulberry, which is red, but the top color is either "U" medium saddle or "L" dark camel. I say "U." :-) Chad, I think that 1979 Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance on eBay a few weeks ago was a far more stunning car than this one. It was colonial yellow with saddle top and saddle leather. I think you have a thing for brown cars. :)

HAZZARDJOHN

12-07-09, 12:28 PM

In 1978 a Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance was one super big time car! One of the last of the real classic old school Cadillacs with the strong large overbuilt Cadillac engines and end of the era class leading design. Cadillac leadership, sales, innovation, and engineering was never higher in the luxury car market than the era of this car.

Well I agree it is a Fine car and I would love to own one, you have to remember at the time most Cadillac loyalists were disgusted by the 77+ cadillacs. My Grandpa, walked into a dealer ship in late 76 to purchase a 77 Sedan deVille and upon seeing the “little Cadillac” he left in disgust and purchased a used 73 Cadillac, which he replaced with my ’75 in 1992 (although he did end up with a rusty '77 sedan deville d'Elegance before he quit driving, not sure why he bought it but it was a rusty pig). I know a lot of guys in out local Caddy club dislike the 77+ Cadillac’s.

Personally, I want to find a 77-79 coupe someday, but not to keep original, I want to make a performance caddy out of one with a Gen III small block.

Aron9000

12-07-09, 05:57 PM

Well I agree it is a Fine car and I would love to own one, you have to remember at the time most Cadillac loyalists were disgusted by the 77+ cadillacs. My Grandpa, walked into a dealer ship in late 76 to purchase a 77 Sedan deVille and upon seeing the “little Cadillac” he left in disgust and purchased a used 73 Cadillac, which he replaced with my ’75 in 1992 (although he did end up with a rusty '77 sedan deville d'Elegance before he quit driving, not sure why he bought it but it was a rusty pig). I know a lot of guys in out local Caddy club dislike the 77+ Cadillac’s.

That's funny how a lot of people didn't like the 1977's, even though they were light years better in terms of build quality, fuel efficency, and road handling compared to the 71-76 models. Personally I've thought 71-76 was kind of a low point for Cadillac design, engineering, and quality.

deVille33

12-07-09, 07:36 PM

I personally like the 1974 & 76 Cadillacs. The '75, although similar, falls out of my preference zone. 1977's are exceptionally distinctive, to me, and I basically love how they handle and ride.

I~LUV~Caddys8792

12-07-09, 08:19 PM

Chad, Which brochure are you referring to? The tan brochure looks like the one I have although mine is the jumbo version which measures 11 1/2" by 12 1/2". The tan brochure shown is the same brochure I have - except in miniature form.

The brochure I'm referring to is the white one in the top left corner, with the wreath and crest in the picture and "CADILLAC 1978 BEHIND THE GREAT NAME, GREAT CARS" in the text.

I have the small brown brochure pictured in the right center in my collection. I bought that one my senior year in high school.

caddydaddy

12-07-09, 09:50 PM

Wow, very nice! I'd also prefer it to be a '79, since I like the steering wheel and the other details the '79s had better.

Bro-Ham

12-08-09, 09:31 AM

Wow, very nice! I'd also prefer it to be a '79, since I like the steering wheel and the other details the '79s had better.

Hi, You mention the steering wheel on the 77-78's. Everyone likes different aspects of each vintage of these cars and I happen to own a 79 but I love the steering wheel in the 77-78's and wish I had one. That is a classic 1970's steering wheel in the 77-78 and the design of the steering wheel matches the detailing of the dashboard. In 1979, and 80, the distinctive detail lines were present on the center part of the steering wheel only. I personally love the 74-76 steering wheel best of all! :)

DopeStar 156

12-08-09, 10:23 AM

The photography is amazing. They look like brochure pictures, especially the interior shots. That photographer really knew what he/she was doing.....

95streamer

12-08-09, 11:12 PM

Best of all, it's a Cadillac!!!

77CDV

12-09-09, 01:57 AM

Well I agree it is a Fine car and I would love to own one, you have to remember at the time most Cadillac loyalists were disgusted by the 77+ cadillacs.

And yet Cadillac had three straight years of record sales in 1977-1979, with 1979 being the highest production volume year to date.:shhh:

I~LUV~Caddys8792

12-09-09, 08:12 AM

I like the massive size on the '74-'76's, but I'd imagine that the 77-79's would drive a lot better, and feel more modern. They also offer much improved build quality and quality of interior design (IMO), and they also offered an interior that was as roomy, if not roomier than the levithans did.

HAZZARDJOHN

12-09-09, 09:26 AM

And yet Cadillac had three straight years of record sales in 1977-1979, with 1979 being the highest production volume year to date.:shhh:

I know this, I like the 77-79 (especially the coupes) I wasn't disparaging them at all. If you are reading disparaging things into what I was saying you need to work on your comprehension skills, I am just telling facts, a cute little story. It usually amuses people today that they were “too small” for the old fashioned Cadillac buyer. Basically a car that most would consider too large and unrealistic to drive today, was so small in 77 in the eyes of the "traditional" cadillac buyer that they were disgusted. It happened to a lesser extent at all the GM franchises that year. No one is going to argue that a 77 caprice isn't a better car than a 76 caprice, but I know people who considered them cheap and small looking when they were new too. I never once said it wasn’t a good car for the time, I just said that a lot of the older guys in the Cadillac club consider 76 to be the last year of the “real” Cadillac’s. Kind of like I don’t like any Cadillac newer than ’96.

re: interiors, I personally like my 75 dash arrangement better than a 77-92. The dash board is a lot more eye appealing, and the last GM dash board that still gives you the old style flavor, even though it has a padded dash. I do think the wood looks better in 77 though.

Bro-Ham

12-09-09, 12:02 PM

I know this, I like the 77-79 (especially the coupes) I wasn't disparaging them at all. If you are reading disparaging things into what I was saying you need to work on your comprehension skills, I am just telling facts, a cute little story. It usually amuses people today that they were “too small” for the old fashioned Cadillac buyer. Basically a car that most would consider too large and unrealistic to drive today, was so small in 77 in the eyes of the "traditional" cadillac buyer that they were disgusted. It happened to a lesser extent at all the GM franchises that year. No one is going to argue that a 77 caprice isn't a better car than a 76 caprice, but I know people who considered them cheap and small looking when they were new too. I never once said it wasn’t a good car for the time, I just said that a lot of the older guys in the Cadillac club consider 76 to be the last year of the “real” Cadillac’s. Kind of like I don’t like any Cadillac newer than ’96.

re: interiors, I personally like my 75 dash arrangement better than a 77-92. The dash board is a lot more eye appealing, and the last GM dash board that still gives you the old style flavor, even though it has a padded dash. I do think the wood looks better in 77 though.

Hazzard, I remember this just the opposite way since I was a young car nut thirsting for car conversations with anyone who would have one with me back in the 1970's. :) First, I like the 75-76 Cadillac full size cars very much, plus I love the 75-76 Electra and Olds 98. There were certain realities present in the mid 1970's, starting with the out of this world success and admiration of the Seville, introduced in 1975, which paved the way for the over the top sales success of the 1977 Cadillacs.

The first crippling gas crisis of 1974, with OPEC playing games with supply, had people thinking less about saving a buck or two on gas but simply just getting any gas at all! GM made an incremental increase in fuel economy for the big cars for 1977, plus, GM made an argument that the 1977 cars were nearly as roomy and, in the case of deVille, even roomier and space efficient than the 1976 counterparts. Plus, the 1977 cars had the similarities in design to the Seville so they were natural "must have" cars, especially when even the lowly Chevrolets even had this progressive design.

New smaller GM full sized cars were so right for their times in the 1977 marketplace. I recall the 1976 and older big cars being looked at as unfashionable and sales of Lincoln and Chrysler full sized "traditional" boats tanked while GM big cars sales in 1977 were through the roof! I'm sure some traditionalists didn't like the GM cars but they sure didn't buy Town Cars or New Yorker Broughams in protest. In fact, Chrysler had to cancel the Imperial after 1975 and in 1979 Ford and Chrysler introduced full size cars nearly identical in styling to the 1977 GM cars. Lincoln kept around the gigantic Town Car through 1979 with ads touting the traditional size but buyers sure didn't bite with the 1979 gas crisis causing the mile long gas lines and rationing. The 1980 Town Car could have been made by GM since it used the same style and architecture as the Cadillac of four model years previous.

My parents bought three of the new downsized GM cars including a 77 Sedan deVille, 77 Olds 98 Regency Sedan, and a 78 Coupe deVille d'Elegance. Unloaded were a 73 Olds Custom Cruiser, an amazing 67 Caprice Coupe with buckets and auto shift in the console, we kept a 68 Camaro Rally Sport which my sister insisted on keeping.

In 1978 Ma & Pa purchased a revolutionary kind of car: a 1978 Honda Accord LX hatchback which replaced the 68 Camaro kids car but Dad thought he may need to use the Honda to get to his office on his 60+ mile round trip commute if fuel supplies were strained again as feared. Sure enough, I remember us using the Honda all the time by 1979 when the gas stations had mile long lines for gas when we sparingly drove the big cars and kept the gas tanks full. By 1980 we also had a 1980 Honda Prelude then a 1984 Accord LX.

The big GM cars in the family stayed around as hand me down kids cars until the 77 Olds was sold in 1985 with only 70k miles, the 77 Sedan deVille made it to 1991 with about 120k miles, and the 78 Coupe deVille went about 1993 or 94 with about 100k miles. Dad went to a 1985 Mercedes 300TD turbodiesel wagon then Mom to a 1988 420SEL. The wagon lasted until 2002 with 175k miles when my Mom had a stroke and stopped driving and the 420SEL was sold to a family friend in December 2006 when it had only 90k miles and they leased a 2007 Lexus ES350 which is coming off lease 2 days after X-mas and they will be picking up their 2010 LS460. My Mom is 81 and my Dad is 80.

My two uncles did the same thing back in 1977. One had a 75 Olds 98 Regency which was traded for a 77 Olds 98, then a 78, then a 79, then a 1980, then a 1981 diesel which he thought he would drive forever until it didn't and he started driving my aunt's 82 Cimarron which was traded for a 83 Cimarron with bigger engine. The other uncle traded his 75 Electra 225 (my favorite car of all time!) on a 78 Park Avenue which he kept until 1989 and traded on a Chrysler Town & Country! That 78 Park Avenue was super tough with the 403 V8 and I remember seeing the miles roll on year after year and he got it to 150k and I couldn't believe cars could go that far! :)

Same for our neighbors back in 1977 - my best friends' parents purchased a brand new 76 Coupe deVille and traded it the next year for a 1977 Sedan deVille. Another neighbor made it until 1978 before unloading their 76 Coupe deVille for a new 78 Coupe deVille. Another neighbor popped on the radar with a new 78 Coupe deVille d'Elegance. Another neighbor got a 79 Riv. By about 1980 the only "heavies" left in our neighborhood were a 76 Electra Limited, a 77-78 Marquis, and a 65 Calais - which was owned by the classic little old lady. The landscape in the neighborhood had changed by the mid 1980's with Mercedes-Benz taking over and we saw a 1982 300D, the all new 84 190E, an 85 300SD (which parked outside!), my parents jumped on the bandwagon too with their 85 300TD and 88 420. Also in the neighborhood, we saw the revolutionary new 84 Audi 5000S (in dark brown) and another guy got an 86 Audi 5000CS Turbo (also in dark brown!). By the end of the 1980's only one neighbor owned Cadillacs - a pair of 85 Coupe deVilles which they drove for 10 years (how did they do that?!).

So, 1977-79 were a true pinnacle era for Cadillac. Never again did they have the market as concretely in the palm of their hands with cars so right for their times.

HAZZARDJOHN

12-09-09, 12:52 PM

See I had a Different experience. Sure cars HAD to get smaller cause of the gas crisis, but most Car guys (especially Caddy owners) weren't happy about it. See this is where stuff gets forgotten about in history, kinda like the '59 caddy was considered a styling failure by many when it was new and now it is practically the whole brand now.

The Cadillac owner up until the mid 80's perhaps prided themselves on the size and luxury (for the times) of their cars, that was the reason to own one period. It goes along with the whole "captain of industry""i've finally made it" theme that the cars had. The downsizing to most of the guys who bought a steady stream of cadillacs from the 60-70's was a dissapointment, and it was the start of a 20 year slide in what the epitome of the automobile was. 1977 was the turning point for GM from the days where style was the forefront and after that they made concessions to government meddling, MPG standards and having to compete with the japanese who were a non factor before the oil crisis. You can't be honest with me and say that GM made better cars after 1980 than they did before it. They turned a new leaf in the mid 90's, but man I look at 77 as the end of the traditional american car. Anything after 1980 was garbage, (with a few exceptions, like 1990-96 Fleetwoods and broughams) and the Great "American" cars we have today have very little in common with a traditional american car before 1977.

All that being said, I thinkt he 77-79 Caddy was a fine car, very desirable (I want one to turn into a Hot rod LS powered car) but that was the last RWD cadillac that I would have much pride in until 1990, and it was the start of the downward spiral that ALL manufacturers had to go through that took twenty years to pull themselves out of.

So we have different expeiences and I'll leave it at that, but I know plenty of people agree with me on this. And I guarantee I put more thought into this than most people, cause I love two things, history and cars. Remeber, I am talking about Cadillac enthusiasts from 32 to 35 years ago. You think we are a small force now, can you imagine what it was then.

And for those that think I say this cause I have a '75, that is not the case. If it wasn't my Grandfathers car that I have so Many memories tied into, I wouldn’t own it. I love my Car, but, I want a 66-70 convertible more than anything, if I could buy any caddy that I would want. That is my preference, but I am more of a Buick man anyway!
~HJ

Bro-Ham

12-09-09, 07:53 PM

Hazz, Size did equal awesomeness at some point through the 1960's and was dying in the 1970's, but the Mercedes was starting to be the car people with money and class looked up to starting in the 1970's. Cadillac recognized this with the Seville experiment in 1975 and the gamble to downsize the full size in 1977 was a huge success. The problem was Cadillac couldn't make the magic after 1980 and the 1985 front drivers were constantly delayed because Cadillac realized it was making the wrong car: a tiny, lightweight front wheel drive sedan that was ugly and under powered - when buyers were buying a better engineered, faster, yet more expensive cars from Mercedes, then Lexus and others. Cadillac lost touch of where buyers were going and the miserable sales of GIANT boat un-downsized Continental Town Cars and New Yorker Broughams in 1977 through 1979 shows luxury car buyers weren't tuned in to bigger is better - they wanted fast, prestigious, sleek, sophistocated cars and by the mid 1980's Cadillac wasn't making what a majority of buyers were willing to embrace - or pay for.

I~LUV~Caddys8792

12-09-09, 08:17 PM

Now obviously I wasn't alive to see the downsizing and public reaction in 1977 and then again in 1985, but I will say that I like the '77-'92 Broughams and '77-'84 deVilles, but the '85-'87 DeVilles and FWD Fleetwoods make me want to shit my brains out. It's literally like a Taco Bell Grande Gordita for the eyes. The flow from the 1976 to 1977 deVilles was natural, the flow from the '84-'85 deVilles was...well it didn't flow.

82CDV

12-10-09, 10:25 PM

I bought a new 1982 Coup DeVille, gorgeous car. I was 35 and my wife hated it. Said it made her feel old driving in it. So, I traded it on a new 1984 Mercedes 300D.

I never had another Cadillac. I stayed with Mercedes and then Lexus. I am in FL now and am looking for a big Cadillac, non HT 4100 car as a cruiser. Something about a big Cadillac! Maybe I’m finally old enough!

What do you all think this one might be worth?

77CDV

12-10-09, 10:51 PM

The subject car of the OP would be worth about 8500 to 9000 IF it's as good as it looks.

Bro-Ham

12-11-09, 09:08 AM

I say $8-9k is the absolute top dollar for the car with the seller getting really, really lucky. In this market I suspect it's probably a bit challenging to find folks who are either willing or able to tap into the corn in the silo to buy a 4-door sedan like this for big money. If this dude does find the babe in the woods and hits the jackpot then I'm hiring a photographer to take sexy pictures of my car, which is just as nice and in as funky of a color, and let's see if I can tap into the gold mine! :) I think the real money on the car is $6-7.

Bro-Ham

12-11-09, 09:28 AM

I bought a new 1982 Coup DeVille, gorgeous car. I was 35 and my wife hated it. Said it made her feel old driving in it. So, I traded it on a new 1984 Mercedes 300D.

I never had another Cadillac. I stayed with Mercedes and then Lexus. I am in FL now and am looking for a big Cadillac, non HT 4100 car as a cruiser. Something about a big Cadillac! Maybe I’m finally old enough!

What do you all think this one might be worth?

Ahhh - the romance! I like old Cads too. The 1980's RWD cars are more cool now than they were when new back in the 1980's. I can remember how out of vogue Cadillacs became by the early 1980's and, like you, everyone in the luxury car market was spending big and buying the sleek performance luxury imports. The saddle car in this thread is sexy and unique and would look FAB in Fort Lauderdale!!! :)

Stingroo

12-11-09, 10:04 AM

It definitely would. And Fort Lauderdale is cruising distance from me. Not to mention right next to my old stomping grounds of Deerfield/Pompano Beach. :)

82CDV

12-11-09, 02:31 PM

Well, they had three bids. High bid was $7,500 which they turned down. Auction has ended. Guess they will list it again. I think this car has been for sale for awhile.

Stingroo

12-11-09, 04:34 PM

That could also be because none of those people had feedback. I bet if someone with an established eBay history offered $7500 they might be a little more willing.